Atlanta based artist Jarrett Christian has exhibited work in several galleries in the United States and was recently named a semifinalist at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery, for The Outwin Boochever 2016 Prize. While he is best known for his immersive photographic practice by which he raises an awareness of the subconscious, he has produced several public artworks and continues to approach art making by merging multiple disciplines.
Christian received an M.F.A. in photography at Savannah College of Art & Design, Atlanta and earned a B.A. in Art and Visual technology at George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia.
We Are Not These Hands
I believe people are affected directly by the environment they stem from. How they are formed, their make-up, histories and beliefs are a product of circumstance; they’re the result of all that surrounds them within the confines of life.
My photographs emanate from direct experiences with the world and environments that envelop people. I am looking for something I recognize and at the same time something I have never seen before—an ‘open metaphor’ that separates or distinguishes itself.
My images are ambiguous and function allegorically. Perhaps not readily identified, yet poignant; they rely on the build-up of parts and the various ruminations that a viewer will conjure.
The images under the working title: We Are Not These Hands focuses on the banalities that frame many small towns, serving us with a portrait of things that are often forgotten. Collectively, this work attempts to peel away the prosaic to reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary.
To view more of Jarrett’s work please visit his website.